Live Edge Tasting Flight

I'm a bit obsessed with producing projects to develop my basement bar as well as my friends'. I don't know why I chose the design of this rather than a sampler beer tasting paddle or a tray. This is just how this particular piece of wood would match with it's destination best.

Please remember to wear whatever safety gear is needed.

Thanks, enjoy.

Garwulff

I am always trying to use materials I feel connected to. I like to use trees I've dropped or friends trees I've helped with. I knew someone who had one of the very last 150+ year old Elm trees. It was a beautiful giant but it was dying and in danger of falling and cutting neighborhood houses in half.

I kept a couple logs and had them cut into boards. I knew this flight was for a friend's bar. The bar has a live edge so I picked a board with beautiful straight grain a nice live edge and a trench a grub had eaten through.

Rip one edge of the board straight (the live edge you don't want to display) and cross cut board to length.

Resaw the board. I wanted the top to be a little thinner than the bottom, so I resawed it about one third and two thirds. Then I planed the two boards.

The drill bits I have weren't exactly the right diameter for the tasting glasses to sit correctly. I drilled the holes for the glasses to the closest size I could. Next I used the circle template that I made out of Masonite and used it to guide a flush trim bit on my router. This got me to the exact size I needed.

Repeat this as many times as glasses you need in your tasting flight.

Mark the locations of the support dowels. Drill through the bottom board and just barely into the top board while both are clamped together. This will make sure that the holes line up, the boards line up and the dowels are plumb.

I cut my dowels down from a 1/2" oak dowel that I had laying around. Then I glued the dowels into the bottom board flush with the underside of the board.

Sand all milled surfaces with 150 grit.

Sand all milled surfaces with 220 grit.

Wipe everything down with a tack cloth or a lint free rag and mineral spirits.

Spray lacquer.

Spray lacquer.

Spray lacquer.

Sand all milled surfaces with 300 grit

Wipe everything down with a tack cloth or a lint free rag and mineral spirits.

Spray lacquer one final time.

Do the final glue up, attaching the top to the support dowels.

Drill pilot holes for the feet. Screw feet into the bottom of the dowels to cover them up.

Pour beer. Put the glasses in the flight. Taste and repeat often with friends and family!